Public Art on the Fulton Mall

Today the Fulton Mall is known internationally for its remarkable collection of public art. But while the mall was constructed using public money, the mall's art collection was funded entirely through private donations. A committee led by prominent businessman and civic leader O.J. Woodward solicited donations of no less than $5,000 from local business interests, and told the donors they would have no role in selecting the works. The group raised a total of $185,000;  45 percent of the funds came from downtown businesses, 41 percent from local newspapers and utilities, and the remaining 14 percent from area car dealers. The committee sought to select a diversity of pieces, ranging from the figurative to the abstract. In 1973, Woodward told the Fresno Bee that the mall was "an ideal setting to expose the public to good art in the form of a permanent outdoor display of significant sculpture, to make a variety of art part of the everyday environment, as is the case in European cities and certain Eastern cities." Today, while Downtown Fresno has undergone many changes, Woodward's dream of a world class outdoor sculpture garden remains alive and well.

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1. “The Visit” – bronze by Clement Renzi

Clement Renzi (1925-2009) was a local sculptor with extensive credentials. He studied at UC Berkley, New York, and Vienna. His works are owned by the University of Virginia, Notre Dame, Penn Academy of Arts, as well as elsewhere in Fresno and surrounding valley towns. This one is visitor-friendly; children like to climb up and sit in the ladies' lap. His works are very popular and enjoy prominent places in public art installations across Central California. Another Renzi sculpture "Yokuts Indian" can also be found on the Fulton Mall, near Kern. Cast in Spain, The Visit was created specifically for the mall, and was installed shortly after the mall opened. It remains one of the iconic images of the mall to this day, and is one of Renzi's best known works.

Location: Fulton Mall near Tuloumne

 

2. Mosaic Benches - tile mosaics by Joyce Aiken and Jean Ray Laury

These colorful mosaic backed benches are found on every block of the Fulton Mall, often in shades spots beneath tall pines or under pergolas graced by wisteria. The builders of the mall had planned to contract with a Los Angeles artist to create the mosaics, but all of the designs would have been indentical. Instead local artists Joyce Aiken and Jean Ray Laury were commissioned to design the mosaic benches, as well as mosaics that once lined porcelain water fountains along the mall. The fountains and their mosaics are no longer extant.

Locations: throughout Fulton Mall

3. "Rite of the Crane" - bronze by Bruno Groth (1905-1991)

Born in Stolp, Germany, Bruno Groth moved to the United States in 1923, and lived most of his life in Humboldt County, California. He had many one man shows: New York, Chicago, San Francisco (de Young), and Los Angeles. His work was also exhibited at the Brussels World's Fair in 1957. There are many commissions of his throughout California as well as New York and the pacific northwest. The stately crane is tastefully displayed among reeds and grasses, which is appropriate for the valley where the marshlands still protect them today.

Location: Fulton Mall at Merced

4. "Talos" - bronze by James Lee Hansen (1925-present)

James Lee Hansen is a native of Tacoma, WA and lives in Vancouver, Washington. He is one of the foremost sculptors of the Pacific Northwest. Hansen taught at Oregon State, UC Berkeley, and Portland State Univeristy. His work has been exhibited at the New York City's Whitney Museum, The Seattle Art Museum, The Portland Art Museum, the Denver Art Museum, and others. He is still active to this day.

Talos (1961) was one of Hansen's most important early works, and part of his "Guardian" series. It was sculpted in clay during Hansen's tenure at UC Berkeley, and later cast in Hansen's Washington studio. Talos takes its name from ancient Greek mythology. According to the Greeks, Talos was a large bronze man given to King Minos of Crete by Zeus to serve as a watchman over the Agean island.

Hansen's is an abstract bronze sculpture which draws inspiration from this classical tradition. For many years, Talos stood at the western entry to the Merced Street part of the Fulton Mall. In recent years, the statue was removed after being damaged, and is no longer on public display. in 2010, Hansen's sculpture Winter Rider No. 2, was installed on Portland's Transit Mall. His 1977 sculpture, Talos No 2 is on display in Portland at Southwest 6th Avenue and Stark Street.

Location: Fulton Mall at Merced

 

5. Water features with clay pipes by Stan Bitters

Local sculptor Stan Bitters collaborated with mall landscape architect Garrett Eckbo on a number of water features throughout the length of the Fulton Mall. Meant to evoke the irrigiation standpipes that are commonly found in Valley fields and orchards, they provide color and texture to the pools designed by Eckbo. This particular feature (at left) is located at the Fulton Mall at Merced Street. Other similar Bitters pipes can be found near Inyo, Tuolumne, and Tulare Streets along the mall. Bitters also designed the much larger "Dancing Waters" sculpture on the Fulton Mall at Fresno Street.

Location: Throughout the Fulton Mall at Tuoloumne, Merced, Tulare and Inyo Streets

6. "Aquarius Ovoid" - brass water fountain by George Tsutakawa

George Tsutakawa was a prominent Asian-American sculptor. He joined the University of Washington art faculty beginning in 1946.  He had over 50 major exhibits, including international exhibits in Berlin, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Portland; Denver, Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego. His fountains can be found throughout the Pacific Northwest. Aquarius refers to water, and Ovoid, an oval shape. Thus a fountain carrying water through an oval. Prior to its installation in Fresno, Aquarius Ovoid was installed at the United States Science Pavilion at the Seattle World's Fair. Another Tsutakawa piece, Obos, can be found at the south end of the mall, near Kern.

Location: Fulton Mall between Fresno and Merced Streets

6. "Trisem" - granite boulders by T. Newton Russell

T. Newton Russell was a Fresno artist, and was also a member of the mall art committee. Because of his involvment, he donated this piece to the city, rather than accept payment. Russell was essentially self taught. He had several shows at the Fresno Art Museum and received various awards and commissions. This sculpture is his most important. It consists of three columns of native San Joaquin Valley river rocks, stacked vertically, connected by hidden steel rods. A light installed in the concrete base of the sculpture at one time illuminated the interior of Trisem at night.

Location: Fulton Mall between Fresno and Merced Streets

7. "Dancing Waters" - clay fountain by Stan Bitters

One of the Valley's most prominent artists, Stan Bitters is known internationally for his sculpture, both in ceramics and in bronze. A graduate of UCLA, he also attended San Diego State and the Otis Art Institute. After graudating, he went to work as a designer for the Hans Sumpf Company in Madera, CA, the world's largest manufacturer of adobe brick. He went on to teach at Fresno State, and in 1976 published the book "Environmental Ceramics". He has awards from Otis Art Institute, Chicago and commissions from Lake Tahoe and Maui hotels. In 2006 he was profiled in the Los Angeles Times. In addition to Dancing Waters, Bitters worked closely with mall landscape architecht Garrett Eckbo also designed the sculptural clay pipes that adorn water features throughout the mall, which take their inspiration from the irrigation standpipes found in fields throughout the Valley.

Dancing Waters in one of the centerpieces of the mall art collection. At its inception, the fountain spouted water pulsating as high as fourteen feet into the air. Colorful lights also used to illuminate the fountain after dark. Due to prevailing winds and concerns over public safety the fountain no longer shoots water quite so high, but still delights shoppers and passers-by on Fresno Street with its vivid displays.

Location: Fulton Mall at Fresno Street

8. "Valley Landing" - polished granite by Gordon Newell (1905-1998)

Valley Landing is an abstract representation of a bird in flight, carved from San Joaquin Valley granite. The piece rests on a granite pylon in a small pool, surrounded by four water jets. The fountain and sculpture are a favorite of young children whose parents frequent the clothing stores nearby.

Gordon Newell lived in Pacific Grove, CA and taught at Occidental and the Chouinards School of Arts. He was once married to noted Hollywood star Gloria Stuart. His sculptures are on display in permanent collections of both Oakland and San Diego museums of art. Together with sculptor James Hunolt, Newell is also credited with creating the Haupt Fountains, located on the Ellipse in Washington DC, near the White House.

Location: Fulton Mall between Mariposa and Fresno Street

9. "La Grand Laveuse (Washer Woman)" - bronze by Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) - France

Pierre Auguste Renoir was among the most famous French impressionist painters, and together with his friend Claude Monet, painted some of the most acclaimed works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Limoges, he attended Ecole de Beaux-Arts, and rose to prominence in the 1870's. His paintings such as Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette (which sold for $70 million in 1990) are instantally recognizable to even the most novice art lover.

However, towards the end of Renoir's life, he was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis, which limited his ability to use a brush. Undeterred, he continued to pursue his artistic vision and turned to sculpture, directing an assistant to work the clay at his direction. Fresno's La Grand Laveuse is one of only six original bronze castings of this work that exist. Only six original bronze castings of this work exist in the world, the other five can be found at Fontvieille Park, Monaco, the Tate Museum in London, the Philadelphia Art Museum and Washington University in St. Louis. Fresno's Washer Woman is the only one of the six that visitors are allowed to touch.

Location: Fulton Mall at Mariposa Mall

10. "Clock Tower" - laminated wood and fiberglass by Jan de Swart (1908-1987)

The clock tower was only piece of art included within the overall construction budget of the mall, the clock tower is the visual centerpiece of the six block long pedestrian mall system. Constructed of laminated fir, the tower is 60 feet high, and features four clock faces. The clock tower was trucked to the site and tilted up on its precast bronze clad concrete base. At one time, the tower was illuminated at night. Four plaques at the base honor various dignitaries instrumental in the creation of the mall, and former Mayor Arthur Selland, and Redevelopment Agency Chair Arthur Eckhold, both of whom died before the opening of the mall in September 1964.

Jan De Swart was a prominent Dutch born artist who moved to southern California in the early 1940's He is best known for his unique use of wood in both sculptures and furniture. His work was frequently featured in Art and Architecture magazine. De Swart received a gold medal from the American Institute of Architecture, and had one-man shows at the Pasadena Arts Museums and the Los Angeles County Art Institute. The 60-foot tall clock tower has bronze plaques listing the names of the committee that raised money for the art on the Mall.

Location: Fulton Mall at Mariposa Mall

11. "Big A" - bronze and aluminum by Peter Voulkos (1924-2002)

Approximately ten feet in height, "Big A" is an abstract sculpture consisting of a collection of highly polished bronze half spheres resting on an aluminum frame. Upon installation of the piece on August 19, 1965, the sculptor told the Fresno Bee, "It just means itself. It doesn't represent anything but the culmination of ideas I had when I made it."

Peter Voulkos was born in Bozeman Montana in 1924, and lived in the Bay Area. He received degrees from Montana State and the California College of Arts and Crafts. Orginally a painter, Voulkous later turned to sculpture, and is best known for his ceramics. In the early late 1950's he was selected to start the ceramics program at UC Berkeley, where he taught from 1959 to 1985. Prior to his selection by the Mall Art Committee, Voulkos had one man shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The Pasadena Art Museum, Gump's in San Francisco, the Landau Gallery in Los Angeles and at Fresno State.

Location: Fulton Mall at Mariposa Mall

12. "Arbre Echelle" - bronze by François Stahly, (1911-2002)

A bronze sculpture with a narrow vertical form, its name roughly translates to "tree ladder." While the sculptor was in California for a residency at Stanford, Stahly visited the mall and selected this particular site for the piece, seeking a shaded location with shrubs and trees to complement the sculpture.

A prominent French artist, François Stahly was born in Germany and grew up in Switzerland. He moved to France in 1931, where he would spend most of the rest of his career. He exhibited regularly in several salons in Paris and exhibited throughout Europe and in Tokyo. His commissions included a chapel at the Vatican, Brussels International Exhibition, and others in France.

Location: Fulton Mall between Mariposa and Tulare Street

13. "Orion" - bronze by Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal (1914-2009)

The name Orion is from Greek and Roman mythology. A hunter loved by Diana, he was killed by accident and she placed him in the heavens as a constellation named Orion.

Born Bernard Rosenthal in 1914 Highland Park, Illinois, he earned a B.F.A. from the University of Michigan and from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Since 1960 he has used the name Tony Rosenthal. He is best known for his abstract public sculptures which explore various geometric forms, such as the cube, in the case of Orion. Quoting from Rosenthal's personal website: "Rosenthal’s Cube Sculptures are like a city, intelligent formation with secrets, hiding, balancing and finding in limitations all the possibilities of a mixed society. Within a Cube, we see other shapes, planes, exposed creating steps or stairs, like a mountain difficult to climb. But climb we do, because it is the invention of clean geometry that makes man other than nature. It is our will."

Called a "Public Art Legend" by art critic Sam Hunter, Rosenthal has more works in museums and public places than Anthony Caro, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Serra, Richard Stankiewicz and Frank Stella. His impressive list of public sculptures dates back to his work for the 1939 New York World's Fair "Nubian Slave." His most famous work "Alamo" (1967) was the first piece of contemporary outdoor sculpture installed in the city of New York. He lives in New York, taught at UCLA. Awards: San Francisco and Los Angeles Art Museums, American Institute of Art, Penn. Academy of Fine Arts, and many one-man shows and commissions.

Location: Fulton Mall at Tulare Street

14. "Mother & Child" - porphyry by Raymond Puccinelli (1904-1986), Florence, Italy.

Born in San Francisco in 1904, and a survivor of the great 1906 earthquake, Raymond Puccinelli traveled to Italy in the 1920's where he studied Italian sculpture, while living with family members. Upon returning to the US, he became friends with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and came in contact with Henri Matisse, who encouaged him to exhibit his work in New York and Paris. In the 1930's he became friends with several other twentieth century icons, classical composers Darius Milhaud and Edgar Varese, and dancer Martha Graham. Many of his works were inspired by dance. In 1942 he was apoointed professor at UC Berkeley and headed the department of sculpture. He moved to New York in 1948 and in 1956 went on a State Department sponsored tour of Argentina. He moved to Italy in 1960 where he established a studio, and in 1964 was invited to show his work at the World's Fair.

Porphory is a type of volcanic rock which typically features large grained crystals of one rock, suspended within the fine grained crystals of another, giving it a distincting look and texture. The word porphory derives from the Greek word meaning "purple" though this sculpture is an example of brown porphory. It has been a material of choice since the days of Ancient Egypt and Rome.

Location: Fulton Mall between Tulare Street and Kern

15. "Ellipsoid VI" - brass fountain by Charles Owen Perry (1929-)

Ellipsoid VI is a brass fountain situated in a circular conrete pool at the eastern entrance to the Kern Mall. Water flows up through the center of the sculpture and down in three streams, back into the pool. An ellipsoid is shape similar to a flattened sphere. The earth is often considered an ellipsoid, as it is not a perfect sphere.

Born in Helena, Montana, Charles Owen Perry is well known as a sculptor, an architecht and an industrial designer. He studied art and architecture at Yale in the 1950's. From 1958-1963 he practiced architecture with the firm of Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill in San Francisco. He moved to Rome in 1964, and returned to the US in 1977. He has numerous awards for architecture and industrial design, and one-man shows in United States, Italy and England. One of his most famous works, "Continuum" stands outside the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. He is also known for his award winning office chair designs. His work is in the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Location: Fulton Mall & Kern Mall

 

16-18. Three Fires: "Spreading Fires"  - "Leaping Fires"  - "Smoldering Fires" - modern copper and Venetian glass by Claire Falkenstein (1908-1998)

These three pieces are among the most interesting on the mall, and at one time, perhaps the most controversial. An abstract interpretation of the dynamism of fire, the pieces met with considerable community discussion when they were installed by the artist in 1966. The three sculptures are typical of much of her public works of the mid 1960's which consist of wire and metal tubing.

Claire Falkenstein was born in Coos Bay, Oregon. She was chosen "Woman of the Year for Art" by the Los Angeles Times, 1969. She taught at San Francisco Art Institute, Mills College, and UCLA. She was a student of the Russian-born modernist sculptor Alexander Archipenko, and was also influenced by Bauhaus artists Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Gyorgy Kepes. She had numerous shows and commissions, one in a French chateau which was exhibited at the Louvre. Critics consider her commissioned works for St. Basils Church in Los Angeles to be her most important work. In 1997 she was named as the "Distinguished Woman Artist," by the Fresno Art Museum's Council of 100.

Location: Fulton Mall & Kern Mall, near Chukchansi Park entrance

19. "Yokuts Indian" - bronze by Clement Renzi - (1925-2009)

The Yokuts were masters of the San Joaquin Valley when the first settlers arrived. This particular piece was not part of the initial mall art collection. It was added in 1974, around the mall's 10th anniversary, through a donation by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Deutsch of Fresno. The seven foot high piece was cast in Italy, and rests upon a granite base. It is one of two Renzi works on the Fulton Mall, the other is The Visit. Other works by Renzi can be seen in Downtown Fresno at the Fresno County Public Library (The New Book) and at Courthouse Park (The Brotherhood of Man).

Clement Renzi was a local sculptor with extensive credentials. He studied at UC Berkley, New York, and Vienna. His works are owned by the University of Virginia, Notre Dame, Penn Academy of Arts, as well as elsewhere in Fresno and surrounding valley towns. His works are very popular and enjoy prominent places in public art installations across Central California.

Location: Fulton Mall between Kern and Inyo

20. "Obos" - bronze fountain by George Tsutakawa

Obos is one of the most prominent fountains on the mall. Standing 13 feet high, Upon its installation in November of 1964, Tsutukawa told the Fresno Bee that Obos (then unnamed) was "a celestial thing," and its various elements were meant to suggest "the happy relationship between the heavens, the moon and the sun." Aside from the mall's clock tower, Obos was the first piece commissioned for the mall. It was unveiled on November 20, 1964, with an event that also featured a concert by the Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra at the Memorial Auditorium.

George Tsutakawa was a prominent Asian-American sculptor. He joined the University of Washington art faculty beginning in 1946.  He had over 50 major exhibits, including international exhibits in Berlin, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Portland; Denver, Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego.

Location: Fulton Mall between Kern and Inyo